September 2012
Chile never ceases to surprise us with its splendid natural beauty. Over the last one year, we have had to raise our standard of a 'wow' place, which means we don`t say ,'ah its so beautiful' just at the sight of a nice beach or a lake or a mountain. We are accustomed to natural beauty which is really breathtaking and Valdivia did not disappoint us. Having been to Pucon already, Validivia didn`t seem like an inviting proposition, afterall its the lakes again we thought. But now, having finished the trip, we are happy that we went to this small town down south. So here is how it went.
Valdivia is surrounded by 3 rivers, rio Valdivia being the primary. On a sunny afternoon, which is not usual, a walk along the riverside is definitely relaxing. The other side of the river holds the famous Universidad Austral de Chile campus. There isn`t much to do in the city as such unless you have not already tasted the vivid varieties of Kunstamann beer at La Cervecera Kunstmann SA.
Chile never ceases to surprise us with its splendid natural beauty. Over the last one year, we have had to raise our standard of a 'wow' place, which means we don`t say ,'ah its so beautiful' just at the sight of a nice beach or a lake or a mountain. We are accustomed to natural beauty which is really breathtaking and Valdivia did not disappoint us. Having been to Pucon already, Validivia didn`t seem like an inviting proposition, afterall its the lakes again we thought. But now, having finished the trip, we are happy that we went to this small town down south. So here is how it went.
Having a car helps a lot. A drive down to Niebla is truely amazing. This is the place where one could take a ferry across to Corral which marks the entry to the Reserva Costeria Valdiviana. On our way to this national park, we came across some beautiful sights, but this one on the right was out of the world. This is the place where the river meets the ocean. We were lucky to have the sun shine upon us for most of the day which added to the grandeur of this place.
The Costeria national park is famous for its colony of sea lions. We did find them in huge collections and of all sizes! On our way back, it had started to rain and if you do not have a 4x4, its a little difficult to drive on those unpaved roads. We were helped a lot by the forest department officials who were instrumental in advising us with directions. By the time we reached corral, we were hungry like crazy.
The next thing on our list was Lago Ranco which is about 100 KM from Validivia. I must mention here that according to google maps it is 100 KM but in reality some of the turns that google maps claimed werent there at all. So actually it was 140 KM from Valdivia but it was worth the drive. A quiet and beautiful lake awaited us.
The water was so clean and inviting that I almost felt like diving into it but I held myself back so that I could return with the necessary swimming skills another day! We have made notice of the fact that our trips to the south seem to be following a pattern: Pucon, Valdivia, Chiloe (soon to be ticked off) and then the final frontier - the glaciers of Patagonia. Hasta pronto!
